With the severe impact of the fourth Covid-19 wave, on August 15, 2021, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued Official Letter No. 2718/UBND-VX to extend the lockdown period till the end of September 15, 2021. Consequently, Ho Chi Minh City will continue the social distancing regulations in accordance with Directive 16/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister. Notable regulations applied for this one-month period are provided as follows.

Specific schedule for people’s movements during the day

For the period from 6am to 6pm of the same day, besides the groups of people allowed to operate before August 15, 2021 as provided under previous regulations, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City permitted the following groups to operate during this time range:

• food production establishments (such as bread, tofu, noodle soup)
• notary offices
• service providers of security; maintenance, repair, response for infrastructure and equipment systems for offices, buildings, and apartments; insurance (related to assessment, compensation records, and settlement of insurance benefits for customers)
• air ticket offices
• private clinics
• essential goods delivery, including shippers having technological applications and people to deliver and receive goods from food production establishments and food retail stores. Note: These people must have qualified signs for identification.

For the period from 6pm to 6am of the next day, Ho Chi Minh City continues to apply curfew during this time range. Under Official Letter No. 2718/UBND-VX, the People’s Committee allowed some people to go out during this curfew, such as those going out for vaccination, medical emergency, and Covid-19 control and prevention as assigned by the competent authority, employees in manufacturing companies and essential service providers (food, medical equipment). Noticeably, vehicles to deliver essential goods, carry workers in companies implementing ‘1 route – 2 destinations’ model, materials for logistics companies to support manufacturing, import and export goods are allowed to function during the curfew period.

Vaccination and business operation

Ho Chi Minh City is facilitating the vaccination progress. The People’s Committee of the city set the target that, until September 15, 2021, 70% of its people (who are more than 18 years old) receives the first dose of vaccination, 15% of the people receives the second dose of vaccination, and 15% of the remaining workers in export processing zones, industrial parks, and high-tech zones receives the first dose of vaccination.

Under Official Letter No. 2718/UBND-VX, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City recommends that businesses proactively assess the requirements to ensure Covid-19 prevention and control and register with the competent authority for re-operation according to the Plan No. 2715/KH-UBND of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control dated August 15, 2021.

The regulatory framework of Vietnam during the Covid-19 pandemic is subject to daily changes.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Government’s regulations in response to this pandemic, our experienced corporate attorneys are always available at letran@corporatecounsels.vn.